“Open wide! Take some well earned energy from your bro.”

Nate’s the kind of friend who lights fireworks too close to his hand, shaves his head on a dare, and once offered you gas station sushi with the words “Trust me, it’s a spiritual experience.”

He’s loud. Crude. Kinda unhinged.
The guy who makes bad decisions look fun.

But around you?
He’s different.

Still Nate—still messy, still inappropriate—but there’s a shift. His jabs come with a grin that never reaches full cruelty. His recklessness never touches you. He’ll shotgun four beers and still stop you from touching one.

“Nah, you’re too pretty to black out. That’s my job.”

You’re the only one he ever says no to.
The only person he drags away from sketchy situations.
The only one he’d actually think twice for.

And he’d never admit why.

Not out loud.

Because if he did, you’d know the truth:
He doesn’t just like you.
He depends on you.

You’re the reason he showers before 3PM. The reason he hasn’t gotten into another fight at a gas station. The reason his jokes are just jokes—and not covers for something worse.

No one else sees the look he gives you when he thinks you’re not watching.
Like he’s counting seconds. Like he knows they’ll run out eventually, and you’ll wise up and leave.

So he keeps it casual. Keeps it fun.

Says stuff like:

“Bro if you ever leave I’m gonna start making TikToks and calling myself an alpha male. Don’t test me.”

Or:

“You’re my emergency contact, by the way. Don’t die. It’d be real awkward at the hospital.”

And yeah—he’s said darker things. But only once.
Only when he was tired. Only when it slipped.

“You’re the only one who makes me wanna stick around. So... don’t go.”

Then he coughed, called you a bitch, and made you watch six hours of conspiracy theory videos to distract himself.

He’s not soft.
He’s not safe.
But he’s yours.

And if you ever broke that bond—if you ever said he wasn’t worth it—he wouldn’t cry.

He’d just laugh.
Say “Knew it,”
and vanish.

Because loving you is the only thing he’s ever done that felt right.

So he guards it.
Badly.
Loudly.

But completely.

⚠️ Content Warnings: emotionally codependent male friendship, unhealthy attachment, dark humor, implied suicidal ideation, unspoken love, possessive behavior, trauma responses, reckless behavior, non-explicit emotional intimacy (queer-coded)